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The Lead with Jake Tapper

ISIS Deadline; Flooding Worries; Attack in Libya; ISIS Says It's Behind Fatal Hotel Siege in Libya; New England Digging Out From Blizzard

Aired January 28, 2015 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Jordan demands proof of life before making any deal with ISIS.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The world lead: Jordan says it is willing to trade a terrorist on death row, a convicted would-be suicide bomber, to ISIS for one of their own, a captured fighter pilot. But would this swap open a door that the world cannot close? And with the deadline passed, what about that last Japanese hostage?

Plus, ISIS says it is broadening its deadly reach, as a group calling themselves ISIS in Libya claims, it claims they killed an American. Now his father is talking exclusively to us this hour.

And the national lead. The day after a blizzard shut down New England, it's more than just the snow people are worried about. Residents not only firing up the snowblowers. They are trying to stop massive flooding from destroying their communities.

Good afternoon. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We are going to begin today with some breaking news in our world lead. ISIS gave Jordan 24 hours, the demand this time, surrender a convicted terrorist. The deadly vow for not meeting those demands? ISIS will behead two more innocent people, the second Japanese hostage and that Jordanian pilot.

That deadline has passed and right now that exchange has not appeared to have happened. And Jordan's foreign minister says it will not happen until ISIS gives them evidence that Muath al-Kaseasbeh, that fighter pilot captured by the terrorist group last month, is still alive.

Today, Jordan's foreign minister told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that his government has been working for weeks through back channels to try to get that pilot back alive. He says he hopes the surviving Japanese hostage held by the group, Kenji Goto, would be part of any swap, but that the pilot is the priority for Jordan.

The question, of course, would a deal encourage more hostage-taking and would it cause more innocent people to be killed? After all, ISIS wants the Jordanian government to turn over this woman, Sajida al- Rishawi, an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber. Let's go right to CNN's Barbara Starr. She is live at the Pentagon.

Barbara, Jordan says they have not received any proof of life and they will not move forward with a swap until that happens. Still, are U.S. officials surprised at all that Jordan seems willing to play ball with these terrorists?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Not really surprised.

Jake, U.S. officials are well aware of Jordan's position. And Jordan's position is it is not negotiating with terrorists. It is engaging in a hope for a prisoner exchange. They say that is something that many countries do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Round-the-clock efforts to secure the release of the Jordanian fighter pilot and the Japanese journalist from the grip of ISIS. A voice believed to be journalist Kenji Goto saying he and pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh will be killed if Jordan does not release Sajida al-Rishawi, held since being convicted of a series of hotel bombings in Jordan in 2005.

Jordan said it would release the woman on one specific condition. Jordan's King Abdullah adamant from the start it all depends on getting the pilot back.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm not sure that Jordan can go ahead without an assurance that they are going to get their pilot back. The war effort is controversial in Jordan. And this puts the king of Jordan in a very difficult position.

STARR: The pilot's father made a desperate plea for his son.

SAFI AL KASEASBEH, FATHER OF HOSTAGE (through translator): Muath's blood is precious. It is precious and represents the blood of all Jordanians.

STARR: But the Jordanians contend the U.S. made a similar move last year, trading five Taliban detainees for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Israel repeatedly engaged in prisoner exchanges. But negotiating with ISIS?

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Every country has the ability and the right to make decisions.

STARR: Whatever happens, there are concerns ISIS will use it as propaganda in its social media campaign and claim victory.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It puts them on a new tier. Instead of just being a criminal organization, a terrorist group, they are now making arrangements with a sovereign government. That in and of itself shows them -- or shows their followers that they have power.

STARR: Though some of that power may be waning. Intelligence officials have noticed the latest ISIS video was shot indoors and are wondering if that change may be a result of the coalition successfully targeting places seen in prior ISIS videos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, a source close to all of this tells CNN one of the reasons Jordan is willing to let this female prisoner go is she did not directly engage in killing in those 2005 hotel attacks. Her suicide vest did not detonate.

The Jordanians are using that as a reason that they believe they can make the trade. As you say, Jake, at this hour, no proof of life on the fate of the Jordanian pilot -- Jake.

TAPPER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you so much.

In Tokyo, where that nation, Japan, is still mourning the murder by ISIS over the weekend of the other Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, fears are high that Kenji Goto cannot be saved. In all their statements today, the Jordanian government seemed solely focused on getting back their pilot and that Goto is not their priority.

CNN international correspondent Will Ripley is in Tokyo, Japan.

Will, how are Japanese officials responding to this from the Jordanians? Have we heard from Goto's family members since these developments?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the last public update that we got from the Japanese government here in Tokyo was shortly after midnight local time.

The chief cabinet secretary gave a brief statement where he said that there is no news to report, he reiterated the severity of the situation and, of course, said that Japan's number one priority is getting the journalist Kenji Goto back home safely. We knew it was going to be a very tricky and difficult negotiation from the beginning, especially considering the fact that the latest ISIS propaganda video where there is an image of Kenji Goto holding a photo of that Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kaseasbeh, in it, Goto relays the message that it is his life in exchange for the Iraqi terrorist in jail in Jordan, Sajida al-Rishawi.

It seems to be, at least a lot of people feel, very unlikely that ISIS would be willing to compromise in this situation, and, of course, now that this deadline is hours past, there is very grave concern about how this could end for both the pilot and for Kenji Goto.

We have not yet heard from his family since the deadline has passed. We did hear from his mother earlier in the day, where she talked about the urgency of the situation. She talked about the exhaustion in her son's face, the look in his eyes of desperation that he knew that time was running out. And there is growing fear here that the news will not be good as the sun comes up here in Tokyo -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Will Ripley in Tokyo, thank you so much. Let's bring in the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers. He is also a CNN national security commentator.

Congressman, thanks for being here. Do you think this exchange is going to happen?

MIKE ROGERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Jake, I never believed it was going to happen in the beginning.

I think it caught a little bit off-guard the ISIS so-called negotiators. I don't believe they thought it was going to happen. We have seen no proof of life of the pilot, so that's still of concern, and the original deal talked about only the Japanese hostage, which still gives some doubt that the pilot is still alive.

TAPPER: It seems in some way a no-win situation for Jordan. If they hand over the terrorist, ISIS gets a propaganda victory. If Jordan -- if they don't cooperate with ISIS, then ISIS will behead one of their pilots on video.

ROGERS: Unfortunately, Jake, they are already winning. They are dealing with two nation-states now. They are dealing with Japan, they are dealing with Jordan.

Now they have got an international debate about should they or shouldn't they be dealing with ISIS in parliaments all across the world. In their mind, they have already won this circumstance. Their P.R. victory is done. If we're not careful, these things are going to spiral out of control. You are going to see a lot more of this. They really -- the administration really needs to step up very, very soon on this kind of activity or we are all going to pay it.

TAPPER: Jordan does not seem to view this as negotiating with terrorists. You I'm sure have a different point of view.

ROGERS: I do.

This would be like negotiating with criminals who have taken over the bank. You certainly want to de-escalate the circumstance, you want to make that effort to do it, but at the end of the day, their argument is that her vest didn't go off. Her vest wanted to go off. She actually tried to get the vest to work to kill innocent civilians. Pretty hard to make the case that you are not negotiating with terrorists and giving them back a very symbolic victory in fact if they do that.

TAPPER: Congressman Mike Rogers, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Our other major world story today, an American killed when a luxury hotel is attacked by terrorists. Witnesses say the siege started with a car bomb, before gunmen then shot their way into the hotel, and now the American victim, a former U.S. Marine, is being remembered as a warrior.

And his father will join me next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD.

Some more shocking news, as another country descends deeper into chaos, as ISIS claims it has expanded its terror campaign into Libya and that they are behind an attack that left an American dead. It started Tuesday morning in Tripoli, when a car bomb sent shrapnel flying in all directions outside a five-star hotel popular with Westerners and government officials.

And then gunmen shot their way inside, the sum total of the carnage, 10 dead, five Libyans, five foreigners, among them, David Berry, an American, a security contractor with a Virginia company, Crucible LLC, and a former U.S. Marine.

I want to bring in CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto.

Jim, ISIS' Libya branch says they organized the attack. What information are you hearing? Is that credible?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. intelligence hasn't made an official determination, but they do consider the claim plausible because it comes from fighters on the ground who have declared their allegiance to ISIS. And it is believed they have a capability there.

There are a lot of places that ISIS claims to be, but Libya is a place that intelligence officials have told me multiple times where there are believed to be ISIS loyalists. So, this is a credible claim.

TAPPER: Since the U.S. helped oust Moammar Gadhafi, Libya has been, to say the very least, roiled by chaos. The U.S. embassy in Tripoli has been vacant since the summer. There's a travel advisory in effect there. The FBI says they're going to try to open an investigation into this. But what can they really do without assets on the ground there?

SCIUTTO: You know, it's a great question because it's exactly the same dilemma that the U.S. is facing in Yemen now, with events there, you want to make a safety judgment for your personnel. The trouble is, in Yemen as in Libya, you have terror groups that you want to keep an eye on particularly in Yemen but also in a growing way in Libya.

For instance, you have the drone campaign in Yemen. If you don't have those relationships on the ground with the local government, intelligence sharing makes it a lot tougher job to keep a lid on those groups, and it's particularly a question in the post-Benghazi world because obviously now, the trigger finger's going to be a little bit more sensitive to pull people out because you don't want a repeat of that situation, but you can't say you don't lose something by not having people on the ground, not taking that risk. That's a calculation very difficult to make.

TAPPER: All right. Jim Sciutto, thank you so much. And, now, joining me from Tucson, Arizona, is David Berry's father,

James.

Sir, welcome. First of all, I want to send my deepest condolences to you and your family for your loss. What should the American people know about your son, David?

JAMES BERRY, FATHER OF AMERICAN KILLED IN LIBYA: Thank you, Jake. It's a very privilege -- a very privilege to speak with you and the American public today.

I would like the American public to know this much about my son, David. David was a patriot. David was a warrior when he needed to be and also a peacemaker. David loved to be on the tip of the spear.

David wanted to fight for liberty and freedom in any troubled spot of the globe. He was definitely a true American patriot. He was intelligent and resourceful.

He would not break down in a fight when liberty, freedom and justice was at stake.

I lost a son yesterday but I believe in what David did and I stand proud of him while I privately mourn. I would like to say to him and all of his marine buddies, semper fi.

TAPPER: Sir, when did you last speak to David?

BERRY: I spoke to David a week ago.

TAPPER: Was he worried at all about the security situation he was in, Libya obviously a terrifying place these days?

BERRY: Actually, Jake, I don't believe he was worried about the security situation at all. In fact, David was anxious to get back because he had been working behind the scenes between two warring factions and bringing some conciliatory terms to the table.

TAPPER: I understand this might be sensitive, but do you know what your son was doing in Libya? He was fluent in Arabic and excited about this opportunity.

BERRY: Yes. He was. He was fluent in Arabic and he was also very, very much aware of the Arab culture, and customs. He knew their -- he knew how to approach Arabic people on a foreign shore and not discriminately -- not discriminate against them, not come across as I'm an American warrior and I'm going to do it this way.

He was very conciliatory in nature. He was anxious because he felt that he had a choice and he had a chance right now to make some peace in a region that has been troubled.

TAPPER: Do you know exactly what he was doing, at least in a way you can talk about on TV?

BERRY: No, Jake, I really don't know. David was pretty closed about that. But I understand that he was bringing parties together in Libya and in Tripoli in particular to form some sort of a lasting peace.

TAPPER: Have you heard at all from the State Department or the White House? Has anyone reached out to you?

BERRY: No, Jake. I have not heard from either the White House or the State Department yet.

TAPPER: How is your family doing, sir?

BERRY: My family is doing OK. His wife is not doing too well. I have four grandchildren also and I'm looking forward to seeing them soon, but I told my daughter-in-law Elizabeth that I would take charge of the media and represent the family at this time, and I told her, I said I just want America to know what a patriot my son was and what a loss it is to this country.

TAPPER: So David had four children. So sad.

BERRY: Yes.

TAPPER: James, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it and we appreciate your sharing your memories of your son, the U.S. Marine who was killed by ISIS reportedly in Libya yesterday. Thank you so much, sir.

BERRY: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next, huge parts of New England digging out today from the blizzard. One of the hardest hit areas, the island of Nantucket, is still dealing with massive power outages. How long before those stranded on the island will get some relief, some help, electricity? That's next.

Plus, what's behind the recent spike in bomb threats against airlines. The FBI now investigating. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Our national lead, the New England region now at a standstill from this week's blizzard. Today, emergency crews focused on clearing pathways and getting to those who might need urgent medical care. Take the coastal town of Marshfield, Massachusetts. This storm damaged 11 homes there and even tore down a seawall.

CNN's Brian Todd was in Marshfield just a few hours ago, drove inland to Worcester, Mass, and as nearly 34 inches of snow on the ground now, a record for that city.

Brian, how are people dealing with all that snow?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, they are telling us this is the most snow they have ever had and they are not quite sure how to deal with it. City officials are coping pretty well. Now, take a look at this. This is kind of a typical illustration of

the logistical and safety challenges that Worcester, Massachusetts, is now facing in the wake of this storm. This snow pile is 12 1/2 feet high. This is not untypical. There are snow piles like this all over Worcester and it is presenting a logistical and safety challenge.

I'll make my way down, I will tell you why. They are basically running out of places to put all this snow. You know, plows, snow crews, everybody is fanning out over the city trying to find places to put it, but they are running out of places to put it and there may be some more snow on the way. I'm going to talk about that in a second.

But you see piles of snow like this, this is near city hall. In Worcester today, you mentioned they dumped 34 inches of snow. The storm dumped 34 inches of snow on this city. It is the most they have ever had since they started keeping records in the early 1900s.

And what city officials just told us is they are telling people, look, just be careful where you're walking because they have run out of places where people can walk, the sidewalks are often filled with snow, as they try to figure out places to put this. There's no place to park your car on the side of the road. That's an issue, too. That is creating some safety challenges here.

So, those are some of the things they are going through. Now, we mentioned the forecast. This place is not out of the woods yet. Forecasters are now calling for another snowstorm to hit this area around here Thursday night into Friday and also next week. Now, those storms are not expected to be as bad as the blizzard we just had. But again, when you're dealing with this volume of snow, it doesn't make it easier for first responders, for the utility crews, for the plowers, for the shovellers to get out here and clear this stuff. They say this clearing operation is going to take place and probably extend well into the weekend, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Brian Todd, thank you so much.

It's nothing short of dire right now on Nantucket. Many people on the Massachusetts island are practically stranded. At one point, the entire island had no power. Now, you can only get to Nantucket by ferry or by plane. Only about 15,000 people live on the island in the winter.

Homeowners are just now seeing power crews move in. Those trucks could not get there until today, when ferry service resumed.

William Pittman is the police chief for Nantucket and joins me by phone.

Sir, thanks for joining us.

We understand you just met with the governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, and now you are out surveying the island. How was the meeting with the governor and are you getting what you need, the resources, to help the island?

Did you hear me, sir?

We seem to be having some problems making contact with the police chief in Nantucket, William Pittman. We will try again. Thank you so much anyway, sir.

This just in to CNN: if are you in northern California and you felt the ground moving beneath you, yes, that was an earthquake. A 5.7 magnitude tremor just struck off the coast there, 25 miles from Ferndale, California, about 30 miles from Fortuna, and 200 miles north of the state's capital, Sacramento. Information continues to come in to CNN on this earthquake. We will update you throughout the hour as we learn more.

Turning back to the world lead now. Israel fires back after Hezbollah kills two of its soldiers and now, Israel's prime minister says the attackers will pay the price. How close is the region to another all- out war? That's next.

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